Upholstering-machine.



No. 643,93l. Patented Feb. 20, I900.

13. G. BALDWIN, H. M. FERRILL & F. A. BROWN.

' UPHOLSTERING MACHINE.

(Apnlicatiun filed Oct. 25, 1899. (No Model.) 5 Sheets-$heet l.

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a No. 643,93I. I Patented Feb. 20, I900. c. c. BALDWIN, H. M. FERRILL & F. A. nnown. UPI-IOLSTEBING MACHINE.

(Application filed Oct. 25, 1899.) (No Model.)

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No. 643,93l. I Patented Feb. 20, I900. c. c. BALDWIN, H. M. FERRILL & F. A. nnowu. UPHULSTERING MACHINE.

(Application filed Oct. 25, 1899.)

(No Model.) 5 SneetsSheet 3 Patenfed Feb. 20, I900.

l). C. BALDWIN, H. M. FERRILL &. F. A. BROWN.

UPHOLSTEBING MACHINE.

(Application filed Oct. 25, 1899.)

5 Sheets-Sheet 4.

(No Model.

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No. 643,93I. Patented Feb. 20, 900.

c; c. BALDWIN, H. M. FERBlLL & F. A. BROWN.

UPHOLASTERING MACHINE.

(Appiication filed. Old 2. 26, .89.9.)

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U ITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

oHARLEs o. BALDWIN, HARLEY M. EERRILL, AND FRED A. DROWN, or BARTON, VERMONT.

UPHOLSTERlNG-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION arming part of Letters Patent No. 643,931, dated February 20, ieoo. Application filed October 25,1899. Serial No. 734,694. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, CHARLES C. BALDWIN, HARLEY M. FERRILL, and FRED A. DROWN, citizens of the United States, residing at Barton, in the county of Orleans and State of Vermont, hai e invented new and useful Improvements in Upholstering- Machines, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This is a machine or apparatus intended, primarily, for upholster'ing double-stufied, plain-top couchesthat is to say, the machine or apparatus is particularly intended for constructing and preparing the cushion or mattress for application to the frame of the bed-bottom, which is a part of the couch, such cushion or mattress consisting first of a layer of burlap, next a layer of tow or equivalent materials, next a second burlap, next a filling of hair, and last a cover or skin, the whole being afterward secured by its edges to the wooden frame of the bed-bottom. There are other cushions, however, which'can be made by means of the machine such as cushions for Morris chairs, for example. We propose, therefore, to apply the apparatus to upholstery cushions or mattresses of any kind to which the machine may be adapted.

The nature of our invention is fully described below and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a front elevation of our machine or apparatus. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section of the apparatus ,at one of the steps Fig. 4is an enlarged cross vertical section of the apparatus, taken on line 4, Fig. 3, at another point in the operation. Fig. 5 is an enlarged horizontal section taken on line 5, Fig. 1. Figs. 6 and .7 are details in cross vertical section, taken at different steps in the operation.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

(1 represents the frame of the machine,made substantially arch-shaped, as shown.

A is a press .or platen supported horizontally within the frame by means of vertical screws A, extending through the correspondingly-threaded upper portion of the frame and provided with suitable hand-wheels A,

and a horizontalshaft (1, Figs. 1 and 2, mounted on the frame, engages the screws A by means of worms a, so that the screws may be operated together by the Wheel or singly by the wheels A. This press or platen A is provided with a number of regularly-arranged perforations b, Fig. 7.

B represents a fiat bed provided with numerous perforations b,corresponding in number and position with and being directly under the perforations b in the press. This bed rests on a frame B, supported by legs B, arranged on the floor, so as to hold the bed with its perforations directly under the press, as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, and 7, said legs being connected by the end bars B, Figs. 2 and 4. Extending diagonally outward from the legs or frame B are supports 0, whose inner edges are grooved at G, Figs. 3 and 4, to receive the corners of a rectangular box consisting of sides D and ends D, but having neither bottom nor cover. .As this box does not come into operation until a certain stage of the process, as below set forth, its position is shown by dotted lines only in Figs. 1 and 2, the box being shown by full lines in Figs. 3, 4, 6, and 7. The grooves O serve as vertical slideways for the box D D.

E and E represent the side and end bars of a frame which corresponds in shape and size with and is set below the bed B. The end bars E are formed up into the angle shape shown, and the frame is supported by the springs e, which are sustained by brackets 6, extending from the legs B, suitable guidepins 6 extending from the frame through said springs and brackets, as shown in Figs. 3, 4, 6, and 7. This frame is thus held up against pear-shaped cams F on the parallel shafts F, mounted in the frame B. These shafts are arranged longitudinally on opposite sides of the frame and are adapted to be operated by suitable cranks F. The bars E E, constituting the vertically-sliding frame referred to, are provided with downwardly and outwardly extending points f, theobject of which is below described.

H is the needle-frame, provided with vertical needles H, secured by their heads in the frame and set coincidently with and exactly under the openings b in the bed B. This frame is supported in a horizontal position beneath the bed by means of chains, arranged as indicated in Figs. 3 and 4. The chain 71 is secured to a shaft g, mounted in the end bars Band operated bya suitable crank g. This chain branches at it into two chains h", which extend in opposite directions over two pulleys K, secured to the under side of the bed B, and thence transversely with the machine over the similarly-supported pulleys K and down to the needle-frame H, to which it is secured, as indicated in Fig. 4. By this means the needle-frame can be raised and lowered, guided by slots H, Figs. 3 and 5, through which the legs Bextend, and by the rolls II on the brackets H, Fig. 4, extending downward from the needle-frame, said rolls bearing against the outer sides of the legs B.

Mounted in the supports 0 and extending both longitudinally and transversely with the machine, on all four sides thereof, are tightening-rolls L L, provided on their peripheries with radially-projecting points L. These rolls are supported at a little distance out from the frame B, as clearly indicated in Figs. 6 and 7. The front tightening-roll L is connected with an end tightening-roll L by bevel-gear P, and similar gear connects said end roll L with the rear tightening-roll L, and like gear connects the opposite end of the rear tightening-roll L with the tighteningroll L at the other end of the machine. The tightening-rolls are operated by a suitable crank S on the front roll L, which is also provided with a ratchet-wheel T, into which a pawl T, secured to one of the support-s 0, normally drops.

In practical operation the process of upholstering a double-stuffed plain-top couch is as follows: First, the needle-frame H is lifted from the position indicated in Fig. 1 by operating the crank g and winding the chains h around the shaft 1 until the eyes of the needles at the upper end project up through the holes I) in the bed B; second, the needles are threaded in the ordinary manner; third, the needle-frame is dropped into the position indicated in Figs. 1 and 2, leaving the thread in and extending through the holes b in the bed; fourth, the burlap which is to constitute the under side of the cushion or mattress when it is placed in position on the couch and which is lettered V in the drawings is laid on the bed B and its edges caught on the pointsf, extending diagonally outward from the frame, which consists of the side and end bars F. E; fifth, the tow, which is lettered W, is properly and evenly laid on the burlap V; sixth, a second burlap X is laid over the tow V and its edges caught upon the points f; seventh, the sliding frame E E is lowered by turning the cranks F, which swing down the cams F into the position indicated in Figs. 3 and 4, thus drawing down the edges of the two burlaps V and X over the edges of the bed B and imparting evenness and density to the tow W; eighth, the box D is applied by slipping it down into the grooves C and pressing it upon the edges of the unfinished mattress, as shown in Fig. 4; ninth, the needle-frame H is lifted by operating the crank g, and the threaded needles-that is, needles provided with the loops of thread usual in such processes-are thrust through the openings 12 and burlaps and tow V X W, as indicated in Fig. 3; tenth, the thread is unhooked from the needles and ordinary mattress-tufts or their equivalents are caughtin the loops of thread above the burlaps X in order to prevent the thread from dropping back through the mattress, this method being common in upholstering; eleventh, the needle-frame H is dropped into the position indicated in Fig. 4, the parts being all as shown in said figure; twelfth, the thread is tightened up in the ordinary manner; thirteenth, the box D is filled with stuffing Y, preferably of hair, laid on the burlap X; fourteenth, the box D D is raised in the grooves C and the cover or skin Z is laid over the stufiing and its edges drawn under the lower edges of said box and caught on the points L, extending from the rolls L L, as shown in Fig. 6; fifteenth, the rolls L L are turned by means of the crank S for the purpose of drawing the edges of the skin Z around them in order to thoroughly stretch it; sixteenth, the press or platen is lowered by means of the screws A upon the skin and the mattress thus given proper form by means of the press and the box D D, as indicated in Fig. 7; seventeenth, the edges of the cover and burlaps are sewed together with suitable curved needles and are then uncaught from the point L; eighteenth, the press A and boX D are lifted and the mattress is removed, and its edges are ready to be secured to the wooden frame of a bed-bottom in the ordinary manner.

The box D D can be placed in a raised position in the grooves O at the beginning of the process or at any time previous to the application to the bed of the burlap V.

The same apparatus can be applied for buttoning down Morris-chair cushions, the general process being as follows: First, thread the buttons; second, lift the needle-frame and run the needle through the bed; third, thread the needles wit-l1 the buttons; fourth, drop the needle-frame, thus leaving the buttons on the upper surface of the bed; fifth, lay the cushion in the box, which consists of the bed B and rails D D; sixth, lower the press on the cushion; seventh, lift the needle-frame and press the needles through the cushion, thus pressing the buttons on the under side. The buttons on the upper side are applied by hand.

By means of this apparatus the cushion is made with evenness and accuracy and with economy of time in its construction.

We do not confine ourselves to the exact mechanical means illustrated and described for raising and lowering the bed, nor to the exact means shown for forcing down the frame E E and platen A. Any suitable mechanical equivalents of such means may be employed.

The flap V (shown in Fig. 3 as hanging down from the mattress through a suitable slot in the bed) is that which is usually provided in order to connect with the joint in the couch between the head and seat portions.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an upholstering-machine, the combination with a stationary bed for supporting the mattress or cushion and a vertically-moving press or platen above said bed and adapted to be moved down upon the mattress; of a vertically-sliding frame beneath the bed, conforming substantially to the shape of said bed and provided with outwardly-projecting points for engaging the edges of the burlaps which constitute a portion of the mattress; and mechanism for lowering said verticallysliding frame and drawing said edges tightly over the edges of the bed, substantially as set forth.

2. In an upholstering-machine, the combination with a stationary bed for supporting a mattress or cushion; of a vertically-sliding frame beneath the bed and conforming substantially to the shape of said bed; points extending diagonally downward from the outer edge of said frame and adapted to engage the uncompleted cushion or mattress lying on the bed; and mechanism for depressing said frame and thus drawing the edges of the burlaps tightly over the edge of the bed, substantially as described.

3. In an upholstering-machine, in combination, the stationary bed B supported by the frame; the sliding frame E conforming substantially in shape to the edge of the bed, set beneath it and provided with the downwardlyextending points f; springs supported by the frame of the machine and bearing against the under surfa'cesof the frame E; and shafts F mounted on the stationary portion of the machine and provided with the cams F between the bed and the frame E, whereby said frame E is forced down against the power of the springs, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. In an upholstering-machine, the combination with the stationary table or bed for supporting the mattress or cushion, provided with suitable perforations and supported by a frame; of a vertically moving box consisting of sides and ends without a bottom and conforming generally in shape to the edges of the bed; and a stationary frame extending above the bed at the corners thereof and formed with vertical slideways adapted to receive the corners of the frame and allow it to move vertically down and be pressed upon the burlaps around the edges of the mattress or cushion, substantially as set forth.

5. In an upholstering-machine, in combination, a stationary table or bed provided with suitable perforations and supported by a frame; a vertically-moving box consisting of sides and ends but without a bottom, said box conforming generally in shape to the edges of the bed; a frame extending above the bed and adapted to guide said box and allow it to slide vertically down upon the mattress or cushion in process of manufacture as it lies on the bed; and mechanism secured to the stationary portion of the machine for drawing the edges of the burlap down over the edges of the bed, substantially as set forth.

6. In an upholstering-machine, in combination, a stationary table or bed provided with suitable perforations and supported by a frame; a vertically-moving box consisting of sides and ends but without a bottom, said box conforming generally in shape to the edges of the bed; a frame extending above the bed and adapted to guide said box and allow it to slide vertically down upon the mattress or cushion in process of manufacture as it lies on the bed; mechanism secured to the stationary portion of the machine for drawing the edges of the burlap down over the edges of the bed; and mechanism for drawing the skin or cover of the mattress or cushion down under the lower edges of the box and over the portions of the burlaps which lieon the edges of the bed, substantially as described.

7. In an upholstering-machine, in combination, a stationary bed for supporting the mat .tress or cushion; a vertically-moving box consisting of sides and ends but no bottom, conforming generally in shape to the edges of the bed and adapted to be moved vertically over the edges of the mattress or cushion on said bed; rolls supported by the frame and provided with points adapted to engage the edges of the cover or skin of the mattress or cushion, said rolls being set at points below the surface of the bed; and mechanism for rotating the rolls, substantially as described.

CHARLES C. BALDWIN. HARLEY M. FERRILL. FRED A. DROWN.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM S. HIBBARD, HORACE P. Coox.

IOCL 

